10 Incredibly Useful Superpowers Heroes Forgot They Had

Those times when a superhero conveniently forgets the all-powerful abilities at their command.

Magneto X-Men
Marvel Comics

By the sheer basic foundation of superhero comics, the heroes themselves are often god-like beings with an array of otherworldly abilities at their disposal.

For every non-superpowered hero - such as Batman, for instance - there's 50 other heroes with a wide variety of unique powers and special skills helping them to fight the good fight and save the day. In fact, some of these superheroes have so many awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping superpowers, that there are times that they even forget just exactly what powers they have at their fingertips.

And it's there, that the spotlight is going to be shone in this list.

Whether it's Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America, or so many other all-powerful good guys and gals, the majority of these supreme beings all seem to have at least one or two tricks up their sleeve that they've pretty much completely forgotten about over time. And said tricks could've come in mighty handy in certain battles and wars should the penny had dropped and our beloved heroes remembered what exactly they were capable od.

Here, then, are ten such examples of incredibly useful superpowers that certain superheroes completely forgot all about.

10. Superman Has Superspeed

Magneto X-Men
DC Comics

Regardless of who your own particular favourites are, Superman is the greatest hero in the history of comic books. With a vast array of superpowers that are unmatched by 99% of other comic book characters, Kal-El is a bona fide god.

So many times over the decades, it's been shown that Superman is one of the few people in existence who can match The Flash in a foot race. Of course, the Scarlet Speedster usually ends up winning these races because, well, because it would be a bit harsh on The Flash to have the character lose in a battle based around the one standout ability he has.

That said, the Man of Steel is never far behind when it comes to racing the fastest man alive.

Considering how The Flash travels at the speed of light, you'd think that Superman might actually use his own ridiculous speed to his benefit at times. Instead, the Big Blue Boy Scout seems to forget about this ability in favour of flying.

Flying is all well and good, but it just seems ludicrous that Superman tends to forgot that he essentially has superspeed at his disposal, too.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.